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The No. 5 USC women's lacrosse team ended its regular season a perfect 17-0 for the first time in the program's four-year history. The Women of Troy swept both No. 3 Stanford and UC Davis this weekend to clinch their first outright regular season title. The 17-game win streak is tied for the longest in MPSF history (Denver, 2014) while the 17 wins in one season is tied for third in league history. The No. 5 Trojans are also one of only two teams still undefeated in the nation.

The Trojans began the game with an all-senior lineup, a nod to the hard-working group that lay the program's foundation four years ago. Nine different players scored goals in the game, including seniors Amanda Johansen, Kelsey Dreyer, Maggie Mawhinney and Caroline deLyra. Senior defender Courtney Tarleton scored her first career goal in her final regular season game at McAlister Field.

The perfect regular season is a testimony to the hard work this senior class has put in to turn a new program into an established powerhouse in the MPSF. However, the perfect regular season is not the end of the line for this USC squad. The Women of Troy hold the undisputed top seed in the MPSF tournament and will face the winner of No. 4 UC Davis versus No. 5 Denver in the semifinals on Friday, April 29 at 4:00 p.m. at Stanford.

It was a picture-perfect day at the Coliseum on Saturday for USC's Spring Game in front of 20,000 Trojan fans. From two JuJu Smith-Schuster touchdowns to Jake Olson's first snap on the Coliseum field, John McGillen was in the house to capture every moment.

The Trojans were joined by legends Sam Cunningham, Marcus Allen and Matt Leinart, among others, at Saturday's rainy practice on Howard Jones Field. John McGillen was there to capture the brotherhood that is Trojan Football...

The Trojans capped off the third week of Spring Football on Saturday with a hot practice on Howard Jones Field, but cooled off afterwards at Uytengsu Aquatics Center as part of the 36th annual Swim With Mike swim-a-thon.

Check out all the John McGillen photos from practice No. 9 plus a couple shots of JuJu Smith-Schuster & Co.'s winning relay...

From Julian Jacobs' dunking exhibition to Jordan McLaughlin's career night, the Trojans victory over Colorado on Wednesday night was nothing if not exciting. Overcoming a late, 15-point deficit to ultimately secure its 15th consecutive home win, USC gave the fans at the Galen Center an entertaining show that they won't soon forget.

Here are all the John McGillen photos from the Trojans' epic comeback...

For the first time since 1997, USC men's swimming swept Cal and Stanford, punctuating the team's final two home dual meets of the season last weekend. The No. 12 Trojans, led by phenomenal performances from three underclassmen in both meets, upset the No. 2 Bears and No. 10 Cardinal to give them a surge of momentum heading into the final stretch of the season.

The Trojans kicked off their winning weekend on Friday, besting Cal for the first time since 2000 by just one point (149.5-148.5) in a meet that came down to the final 25 yards of the 200y free relay. The epic finish came courtesy of freshman Kyle Grissom, whose anchor leg comeback propelled USC to the wall just .04 seconds ahead of the Bears.

"This was a transformational meet for us," said head coach Dave Salo after USC's gutsy performance. "I'm really proud of these guys. They stayed in the meet all the way through. They never gave up and have really matured coming off last year's Pac-12 win."

Fellow underclassmen, sophomore Pawel Furtek and freshman Carsten Vissering, also aided in the Trojans' victory, with Furtek winning both the 1000y free and 500y free and Vissering breaking the pool record to win the 100y breast in 54.21.

On Saturday, the Trojans secured another upset victory, topping Stanford, 167-133, for an 8-1 overall record and a 4-0 record in conference. Freshman Patrick Mulcare snagged three first place wins in the 100y back, 200y back and 200y IM, while Furtek once again won the 1000y and 500y free races. USC also swept the 3m diving events for the second meet in a row.

The Trojans finish the regular season against Utah in Salt Lake on February 20. Be sure to follow @USCswim for behind-the-scenes access to both the USC men's and women's swimming teams as they inch closer to postseason competition.

Check out the SnappyTV highlights from the Trojans' upset over Cal on Friday...

The USC women's basketball team split its weekend home stand, dropping a hard-fought game to the No. 12 Stanford Cardinal on Friday night before bouncing back on Sunday against the California Golden Bears to end its three-game losing streak.

Sunday's victory began as a back-and-forth stalemate until the
Trojans broke free in the fourth quarter, going on a 17-0 run to defeat
the Bears, 61-47, in a much-needed win. The Women of Troy entered
halftime with only a two-point lead, but Temi Fagbenle took over in the final two quarters, scoring 12 second-half points to give USC the victory and the graduate student transfer her sixth-straight game scoring in double figures. Sophomore Kristen Simon joined Fagbenle at the top of the stat sheet, racking up a double-double with 10 points and 10 boards.

On Friday night, the Women of Troy had a tough hill to climb facing a top-ranked and experienced Stanford team without usual starters Jordan Adams and Brianna Barrett. USC managed to compete with Stanford throughout the first two quarters, entering the locker room only down four points. However, the Trojans shooting woes continued in the second half and the Cardinal dominated the boards to surge out to a double-digit lead, eventually defeating USC, 57-47.

The Women of Troy will ride the momentum from Sunday's dominating victory to Utah as they face the Utes on Friday at 6:00 p.m. PT and then to Colorado on Sunday at 6:00 p.m PT in Boulder. Here are all the John McGillen photos from Sunday's victory...

For the first time since 2011, the USC women's basketball team is among the Top 25 in the nation. After two impressive conference victories, including Sunday's, 71-68, upset over No. 15 UCLA, the Trojans earned the No. 25 spot in this week's AP poll. Just four games into conference play, the 14-2 Women of Troy are ready to keep the momentum going as they take to the road this weekend.Check out all the John McGillen photos from the Trojan's victorious rivalry match on Sunday...

Thursday night's USC men's basketball game featured jaw-dropping dunks, nine punishing blocks and most-importantly another Trojan victory as USC topped Arizona State, 75-65. John McGillen was courtside at the Galen Center to capture the best from the night, including Julian Jacobs' return from injury and an astounding Chimezie Metu slam.

The Trojans were unable to end the 2015 season the way they intended, falling to Wisconsin in an exciting, back-and-forth Holiday Bowl game. John McGillen was on the sidelines at Qualcomm Stadium to capture every moment from the night...

USC reclaimed the Victory Bell, city bragging rights and a spot in the Pac-12 Championship game with a convincing victory over crosstown rival UCLA on Saturday. John McGillen, with guest photographers Rachel Bennett and Ryan Kang, was on hand in the Coliseum to capture the best of the big victory.

Basketball season is right around the corner with both the USC men's and women's teams looking to make a big leap in 2015. On Sunday, the Galen Center hosted the 2015 Trojan Tip-Off, the yearly kick-off event for both of the USC squads. The event included a scrimmage for both teams, along with a 3-point shooting competition, which freshman Bennie Boatwright won, and other skills competitions.

The USC women's soccer team snatched its third and fourth Pac-12 wins of the season last weekend, topping Arizona State, 2-1, and No. 15 Arizona, 3-1, at McAlister Field. John McGillen was there to capture the Trojans' victory over the Sun Devils on Friday. Check out his gallery here...

The defense emerged victorious from the final scrimmage of Fall Camp on Saturday and John McGillen was there to capture every moment. With just under two weeks to go until kickoff, here are photos of the Trojans as they prepare to beat the Red Wolves.

On Saturday, the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum hosted the 2015 Special Olympics World Games opening ceremonies featuring over 7,000 athletes from 177 countries. USC is one of the main venues for the week-long competition which culminates in the closing ceremonies, also at the Coliseum, on August 2.

First Lady Michelle Obama, Olympians Michael Phelps, Abby Wambach and Michelle Kwan, and ABC's Robin Roberts were among those in attendance on Saturday night to welcome the thousands of athletes to Los Angeles. The Coliseum has long been a host of international competition, first in 1932 and again in 1984 for the Summer Olympics.

The Trojans are putting the pieces together during spring practice to accomplish championship-caliber success this fall. With two more weeks of work until the Spring Game, the team continues to push itself more and more.

Here are all the John McGillen photos from the ninth spring ball session...

USC women's lacrosse is enjoying the longest winning streak in program history as the Women of Troy are mowing opponents down at McAlister Field, having won five consecutive games, including four straight at home by a combined score of 66-21. The Trojans have started MPSF play 2-0 with victories over Fresno State and Cal, but the latest win came Sunday against Marquette in non-conference action.

The Women of Troy have one more match on this five-game home stand as they look to stay undefeated at McAlister Field on Friday against St. Mary's at 3 p.m. After this week, USC will finish with six of eight games on the road, but mark your calendars for the home showdown with Denver on April 12.

Here are the John McGillen photos from last week's win over Cal, which featured five goals by Amanda Johansen in an 18-5 rout:

The Trojans shined in front of an array of NFL scouts on Wednesday, with projected top five draft pick DL Leonard Williams stealing the spotlight at USC Pro Day. Nelson Agholor, who did not participate in position drills at the NFL Combine, and RB Buck Allen also got the chance to demonstrate their abilities as skill players. WR George Farmer used Pro Day to make a statement by posting a 4.35 (official electronic time) 40-yard dash while also busting out 19 reps on the bench press.

To see more of Wednesday's action, here are all of John McGillen's photos from USC Pro Day...

USC women's water polo comes into every season with championship aspirations, and now the Women of Troy know what it will take this year after battling defending champion Stanford in an overtime classic last Sunday. No. 3 USC ultimately fell to No. 2 Stanford, 12-9, but the Trojans fought out of a four-goal deficit to force the extra session.

USC men's basketball snapped its nine-game losing skid with an energetic defensive display against Oregon State at Galen Center on Saturday. The Trojans blocked 9 shots, including 3 each by guards Elijah Stewart and Julian Jacobs, and held the Beavers to 24.2% shooting in the second half en route to victory.

USC heads to Arizona (Thursday at 6 p.m. PT on Pac-12 Networks) and Arizona State (Sunday at 5:30 p.m. PT on Pac-12 Networks) this week.

Here are the John McGillen photos broken into halves from the Valentine's Day victory:

USC baseball got its 2015 season off to a great start on Friday night, when it dominated Towson, 17-1 at Dedeaux Field. Junior starting pitcher Brent Wheatley threw a career-high 10 strikeouts and had just one hit in six innings. Four Trojans had multi-hit nights, including Dante Flores who went 2-for-3 with two RBI and two runs scored and AJ Ramirez who had three RBI.

The Trojans host Towson again on Saturday at 6 p.m. PT and Sunday at 1 p.m. PT.

For the eighth consecutive time, USC women's swimming and diving defeated crosstown rival UCLA in the annual dual meet at Uytengsu Aquatics Center on Friday. The Trojans downed the Bruins 174.5 to 125.5 on a day that included pool and meet records in several events.

Among others, Kendyl Stewart won the 100y fly in a pool and meet record 51.25 seconds. Chelsea Chenault won the 500y free with a meet and pool record of 4:40.98. Plus, Hannah Weiss set pool records in the 200y backstroke (1:53.83) and 100y back (51.92).

No. 6 USC women's golf, playing without the past two NCAA individual champions Annie Park and Doris Chen, still managed a second place finish at the Northrop Grumman Regional Challenge in Palos Verdes. The Women of Troy were instead led by freshman Amy Lee, who finished third overall in her collegiate debut, and sophomore Gabriella Then, who shot a final round 69.

Jake Olson has served as an inspiration to so many Trojans as he bravely defeated pediatric cancer despite losing both his eyes to the dreaded disease. Now, he is officially one of us accepting a Swim with Mike scholarship to attend USC starting in the fall.

USC men's basketball played the third longest game in program history Thursday night and the longest since a four overtime victory over UCLA in 1985. While the drama ended in a loss to Colorado, the Trojans received outstanding individual performances from redshirt sophomore SG Katin Reinhardt and sophomore PF Nikola Jovanovic, which will ink their names in the USC record books.

Reinhardt tied the school record by making 9 three-pointers in a single game, which Anthony Pendleton set back in 1987. He finished the night with 35 points, the most by a Trojan since O.J. Mayo dropped 37 in 2008.

Jovanovic, who scored 30 points of his own, and Reinhardt are the first USC teammates to ever score 30 or more in the same game.

No. 1 USC men's tennis and No. 14 USC women's tennis advanced to the ITA National Team Indoor Championships on the strength of a pair of sweeps each over the weekend at Marks Stadium. The defending national champions took out Louisiana and Santa Clara, while the Women of Troy made easy work of Denver and Pepperdine.

Now 3-0 on the season, the Trojans were given a big boost by highly touted freshman Larry Tuileta in his first career start who tied the team-high with nine kills in the match. The Hawaiian phenom spent the fall as a backup quarterback and now joins the men's volleyball program with the season just barely in progress.

USC men's basketball sits at No. 96 in the national RPI, which ranks sixth best in the Pac-12. The promising start for the young Trojans includes an 8-4 non-conference record after defeating Vermont last night.

USC men's water polo never goes quietly into the night. Down 7-4 heading into the final period of the NCAA Title Match, the Trojans stormed back to knot the game at 7-7 before eventually falling 9-8 to UCLA.

The atmosphere at UC San Diego matched the drama in the pool yesterday. Here are the John McGillen photos to prove it:

USC held its fourth annual Community Bowl on Saturday at El Sereno Middle School, in which over 140 student-athletes partnered with over 300 El Sereno students to beautify the school, practice good study habits and play games.

The focus of the day was mentorship on behalf of the Trojans, as representatives from nearly every sport spent one-on-one time with the middle school students. The entire day was a success with the students completing over 30 projects ranging from mural painting to flower planting to school clean up.

USC men's water polo knows how to do Senior Day. The Trojans honored their national championship ringed quartet before taking down Cal 7-6 Saturday behind a pair of hat tricks from seniors Kostas Genidounias and Marc Vonderweidt.

The Trojans finished the regular season 21-4, and they will be the No. 3 seed at this weekend's MPSF Championship in Long Beach. USC will need a strong showing at the conference tournament to earn an NCAA bid and keep hope alive for a seventh consecutive national championship.

USC women's volleyball paid tribute to its senior class Friday night before falling in a classic five-setter to Cal. For the Women of Troy, Hayley Crone, Hannah Schraer and Emily Young played their final home matches.

The USC women's soccer team concluded its impressive season under new head coach Keidane McAlpine in heartbreaking fashion on Saturday, falling to the No. 4 Pepperdine Waves in penalty kicks in the first round of the NCAA tournament.

"These are never easy. They're never anything that you can walk away from and feel just great about," said McAlpine. "In the same way, we are extremely proud of the season we had changing the direction of the program."

The Trojans battled toe-to-toe with the Waves in front of a feisty Pepperdine crowd in Malibu for 110 minutes before heading to penalty kicks to decide the outcome. Freshman Nicole Molen gave the Women of Troy the early lead when she scored her first career goal for USC off a tremendous corner from junior Jamie Fink. USC held the lead until the 70th minute when Pepperdine evened things out with a goal off of a rebound from senior goalie Caroline Stanley's save.

Both squads had plenty of opportunities in the second half and the two overtime periods; however, neither team could capitalize ultimately leading to the most heartbreaking way to decide a game: penalty kicks. Stanley saved the first Pepperdine attempt, but the Waves responded immediately with a block of their own. The Trojans ultimately fell 4-2 in PKs ending their season in devastating fashion.

"In regards to the game, we fought hard - that's a long game when you go into double overtime and then PKs, but the game is cruel," said the senior goalkeeper. "It really doesn't judge the talent of this squad. I'm not worried about them at all next year. In fact, I think they're only going to go up and rebuild this program into a dynasty."

The Women of Troy finished the 2014 season with a trip to the NCAA tournament and a winning season for the first time since 2010 - a goal of the new coaching staff. After finishing 11th in the PAC-12 last year, no one really considered a trip to the NCAA tournament in 2014, especially with the implementation of a brand new coaching staff.

"When we looked at the roster, we knew it had a lot of talent on it. The question was could we get them to believe in the vision, get them to believe in each other, get them to commit to being great teammates because we believe it starts with great chemistry," said the head coach.

Well, the girls bought into McAlpine's system finishing fourth in the PAC-12 under the leadership of the reigning PAC-12 Coach of the Year. The Women of Troy set a school record for the best start - opening the season with six wins and two ties and prior to Saturday, they had 41 goals which surpasses the 31 goals for all of the 2013 season.

Though the 2014 season just concluded on Saturday, McAlpine is already preparing for his sophomore season focusing on the growth potential of his young team. However, the Women of Troy do lose four seniors in goalie Caroline Stanley, forward Jessica Musmanno, midfielder Alex Quincey and defender Heather Davis.

"We ask them to get better every day. We ask them to just grind every day. Now that they've been with us for a year, there's some understanding of expectations," said McAlpine. "We're just going to continue to clean up details, clean up technically. We return a large group of women, so we expect big things."

Here are John McGillen's photos from the devastating first-round loss to Pepperdine...

USC men's and women's basketball season tips off Saturday as the Trojans host Portland St. (7:30 p.m. at Galen Center) and the Women of Troy travel to South Carolina (7 p.m. ET/4 p.m. PT on SEC Network). Both teams tuned up with scrimmage victories this past weekend at home as the men defeated Cal State LA 87-68 and the women thumped Concordia 120-56.

USC men's water polo has battled back and forth with UCLA in three matches this season, but the Trojans lost the latest encounter (10-8) to the Bruins on Sunday night. The result seesaws the SoCal BMW Crosstown Cup standings (15-10) back in favor of UCLA for the time being with Friday's soccer showdown at the Coliseum next on the docket.

USC men's and women's basketball tipped of the 2014-15 season Sunday at Galen Center with an afternoon spectacle for the fans. Along with games and autographs, the scrimmages had an all-star feel complete with alley-oops, no-look passes and fancy dribbling.

Here are the men's photos (top) and women's photos (bottom) by John McGillen:

USC women's soccer will hit the road after wrapping up its five match home stand with a 2-0 loss to Arizona State. The Women of Troy play the next four in the Pacific Northwest starting with Oregon (Friday) and Oregon State (Sunday).

The Trojans dominated the Sun Devils statistically racking up 25 shots to ASU's 11, but they could not find the back of the net.

"Once again I didn't think we came out with the intensity necessary to win the game from the start," said head coach Keidane McAlpine. "We then had to play from behind, and you can't do that in this league and expect to win games."

No. 4 USC men's water polo celebrated a resounding 14-5 victory over No. 5 UC Santa Barbara on Saturday and then commemorated the life of Jon Walters, who tragically died earlier this year, with a plaque that will live forever on the walls of the Uytengsu Aquatics Center.

The Walters' family, including his brother James who is a freshman this year, were part of the post-game ceremony. The photos of the plaque and the family are at the end of the John McGillen photo gallery below.

No. 18 USC women's soccer split its weekend home matches with the mountain schools dropping Friday's contest to Colorado 1-0 before bouncing back Sunday with a 2-0 win over Utah. The Women of Troy controlled the action against the Buffaloes, but could not push one over the line until Sunday when Alex Quincey slammed in a brace to beat the Utes.

The Trojans are a promising 8-2-2 on the season and 2-1 in Pac-12 play. The competition ramps up considerably this week with No. 12 California (Friday at Noon) and No. 3 Stanford (Sunday at 3 p.m.) coming to McAlister Field.

USC is in an early 10-0 hole in the BMW Crosstown Cup standings after women's volleyball was swept by the Bruins at Galen Center last night, which follows men's water polo's loss to UCLA in the NorCal Tournament this past weekend.

The Women of Troy never found their feet last night losing 25-23, 25-13 and 27-25 to fall to 7-4 on the season. No. 9 USC will look to bounce back Friday night at Galen Center (6 p.m. start) against No. 19 Arizona State.

No. 15 USC women's soccer took its first loss of the season Sunday dropping a 2-1 decision to No. 12 Pepperdine, but the Women of Troy are still a healthy 6-1-2 on the campaign after setting a program record Friday by scoring nine goals in a game.

USC men's golf is in the midst of its fall schedule, and the Trojans impressed by taking second place at the Southwestern Intercollegiate. USC was topped only by Stanford as the Trojans received a strong performance from freshman Sean Crocker (5-under) who finished second individually.

The Trojans opened the 2014 season with a commanding win over the Fresno State Bulldogs. From Nelson Agholor's two scores to Bryce Dixon and Adoree' Jackson's first touchdowns of their USC careers, John McGillen captured all of the magic on Saturday. Here are his galleries...

USC football kicked off the new season in a ceremonial fashion Saturday with the annual Salute to Troy BBQ. The 1964 and 1989 Trojans were honored on their 50- and 25-year anniversaries, and the 2014 team was introduced to a packed crowd on Cromwell Field.

The Trojans played some real football last night at the Coliseum, albeit against each other, and the playmakers showed up including freshmen Adoree' Jackson and JuJu Smith who had return touchdowns on special teams.

The Trojans morning mostly featured hopping from tent-to-tent and reporter-to-reporter answering question-after-question about the upcoming season and everything else under the sun. But, they had some fun too including a competitive game of "corn hole" and dressing up for a selfie.

USC baseball was one of the "first four" teams NOT to be selected to the NCAA Tournament. While the near miss is something of a disappointment, optimism is in growing supply at Dedeaux Field after the Trojans finished off a 29-24 campaign by taking two out of three from No. 1 Oregon State.

The Trojans have not made the postseason since 2005, and while that fact still holds true, the program's arrow is pointing up under second-year head coach Dan Hubbs. USC improved by nine wins over last season, including six more Pac-12 victories, thanks in large part to a strong group of leaders including the 2014 senior class.

The senior six-pack features J.R. Aguirre, James Guillen, Jake Hernandez (the team's leading hitter at .327), Sean Silva, Kevin Swick (the team's leader in hits and runs scored) and Bob Wheatley. The group was honored before Sunday's season finale (bottom photo gallery).

"Nothing can describe what these seniors have done for the USC baseball program," tweeted junior ace Wyatt Strahan.

Generally speaking, the roster is still young and the playoff drought is under serious threat with sophomore RHP Kyle Davis (team-best 1.12 ERA) and freshman C Jeremy Martinez (team-high .748 OPS) leading the charge.

Here are the John McGillen photos from Kyle Davis' gem and the senior sendoff:

As we documented and previewed last week, USC baseball welcomed home members of the five consecutive national championship teams from 1970-74 known as "The Five Jewels of the Crown" before Saturday's game at Dedeaux Field.

The all-star guest list included former big leaguers Fred Lynn, Dave Kingman, Roy Smalley, and Steve Kemp, as well as George Milke, the 1974 College World Series MVP and Russ McQueen, the 1972 College World Series MVP, and many other notables.

USC track and field split the annual Dual Meet with UCLA Sunday as the Women of Troy were victorious, but the men dropped a close one.

The meet marked the end of regular season play between the Trojans and Bruins in 2013-14. Here are the updated Gauntlet standings: USC 62.5, UCLA 52.5.

The Trojan Family has all but assured crosstown bragging rights, but the victory is not clinched until postseason play is completed as USC and UCLA could see each other again, which would potentially shake things up.

The Women of Troy fell to the Wildcats 12-7, but they bounced back to beat Marquette 11-5 Sunday in Milwaukee. Now, they head into the MPSF Tournament in Denver where the Trojans will open up with Oregon this Thursday.

John McGillen took the trip to the Windy City to provide all the lacrosse photos with a classic backdrop.

The first spring football season under head coach Steve Sarkisian is in the books, so let's recap what we learned.

Don't Blink

The biggest difference on Howard Jones Field this spring was the pace of play. The Trojans are running their offense at breakneck speed, which will not only get opponent's on their heels come fall, but the USC defense will be fit to face all the no-huddle attacks in the Pac-12. Despite the increased tempo, the Trojans are still a run-first offense with a deep group of tailbacks competing for carries led by Buck Allen and Tre Madden. "Whoever plays us should be worried. We've got monsters in the
backfield," said WR Nelson Agholor.

Too Tough to Unseat

Sarkisian made it clear that no player would suffer from preconceived opinions, and every spot was up for grabs. However, in the end, Cody Kessler was too sharp and savvy to cede his spot to the hard charging Max Browne. Kessler displayed improved arm strength and accuracy, and appears to be the undisputed leader on offense. "Cody's got a really quick release, tremendous arm strength and he's really accurate down the field," praised Sarkisian. "I think we can win a lot of football games with Cody Kessler as our quarterback."

On the Nose

Spring football is a great showcase for players primed to break out. No player took better advantage than junior nose tackle Antwaun Woods who has matured into an unexpected leader and dominant run stuffer. "He has had a heck of a spring. I think Antwaun has really been the standard on the defensive side of the ball all spring long," said Sarkisian. "He's really a playmaker, he lives in the backfield. He does an amazing
job of making the ball bounce to the perimeter and he does it with
tremendous energy."

Center of Attention

USC was forced to shuffle its offensive line this spring to due to injuries and departures. Veteran Max Tuerk was the biggest chess piece to move as he takes over the center position vacated by Marcus Martin. Tuerk has always been considered a heady lineman who can play multiple spots, and the coaches trust him to make the correct calls at the line of scrimmage. "Max is a very talented player. He's very bright. He could probably play
three different positions on the offensive line," Sarkisian said. "We
have to see how we evolve up front. It is comforting to know that you
have an experienced player at center when you are operating at this
pace."

Whoa Nelly

The torch has officially been passed. USC has been blessed with elite playmakers on the outside for the last handful of seasons, including record-setters Robert Woods and Marqise Lee, but now Nelson Agholor is the danger man. While several candidates battle for the No. 2 position, Agholor is undoubtedly the top target. "Nelson is a really good player," said Sarkisian. "He is a dynamic football player. I've been very impressed by him."

Help on the Way

When Sarkisian released his end of spring depth chart, 23 names were listed at the bottom under injured. The head coach expects all of them to be fully fit for fall camp plus a collection of exciting prospects from a Top 10 recruiting class. "I'm hopeful the next time we have a scrimmage like this in the middle
of Fall Camp that we are a little more efficient on both sides of the
ball," explained the head coach after the Spring Game. "There will be a lot more guys
participating by then too which will be key." The highlight additions include All-American DL Leonard Williams, Freshman All-American DB Su'a Cravens, CB Josh Shaw, RB Justin Davis, WR/DB JuJu Smith and WR/DB Adoree' Jackson.

Head coach Peter Smith had his players focused on one thing last week, but not what you would expect. Playing UCLA for the Pac-12 regular season title, he was more intent on beating the Bruins than controlling the conference. In the end, the Trojans owned both.

"The goal is always to beat UCLA," said Smith before the match. "We don't care
where we play them. We could play them at 8 a.m. in Chicago, we could
play them at 6 a.m. in Hawaii. Yes, winning the Pac-12 is something we'd
love to do, but mostly we just want to beat UCLA. Period. And that's
the beauty of the rivalry."

It was a beauty of a rivalry match in the end. The Trojans battled back after dropping the doubles' point thanks to singles winners No. 1 Yannick Hanfmann, No. 3 Roberto Quiroz, No. 4 Max de Vroome and No. 5 Eric Johnson.

Quiroz came through with the clinching victory and was promptly mobbed by his teammates after collapsing to the ground. Here are the John McGillen photos:

USC women's lacrosse celebrated its first ever Senior Day with a dramatic 11-10 victory over Stanford in the Coliseum. Ceilidh Meagher, the lone senior, started the day walking through a tunnel of lacrosse sticks with her parents and ended the afternoon inside a dog pile with her teammates.

The Women of Troy had fallen on hard luck in recent weeks. Once tied atop the conference, USC dropped three consecutive heartbreakers before finally seeing the ball bounce the Trojans' way on Sunday.

USC finished the MPSF regular season 6-3, and now hits the road for a big non-conference tilt with perennial power Northwestern inside historic Wrigley Field. John McGillen will travel with the Women of Troy to document their trip to the Windy City, and he also provided the photos from a picture perfect day at the Coliseum.

USC baseball received a huge lift from junior ace Wyatt Strahan who tossed a five-hit complete game shutout Thursday night to lead the Trojans to a 1-0 victory. The right-hander silenced the Arizona Wildcats lineup, which is considered the best in the Pac-12.

The Women of Troy were unable to defeat UCLA dropping a physical 6-4 conference regular season finale, but they will likely see their rivals again in the MPSF and/or NCAA Championships, which will both be held at the Uytengsu Aquatics Center.

No. 13 USC women's tennis honored senior All-Americans Kaitlin Christian and Brynn Boren Friday before the Women of Troy knocked off No. 19 Arizona State. The Trojans also swept Arizona to finish the home schedule with only a road trip to UCLA (Friday at 2 p.m. on Pac-12 Networks) left this regular season.

Boren has made an immediate impact in her one season at Troy as a transfer from Tennessee, but Christian will leave a lasting legacy winning the 2013 NCAA Doubles Championship with partner Sabrina Santamaria. The Christian/Santamaria tandem became the first NCAA doubles champions in USC history, and the first ever to complete the "Triple Crown" as doubles champs at the ITA All-American Championship,
the ITA National Indoors Championship and the NCAA Tournament.

Here are the John McGillen photos as Christian and Boren celebrated Senior Day with a team victory:

While All-Americans Flora Bolonyai and Monica Vavic are the core of No. 3 USC women's water polo, the Trojans have some new stars emerging in junior Eike Daube and freshmen twin sisters Ioanna and Stephania Haralabidis. Daube scored a career-high five goals in the most recent victory over UC Irvine, while the Haralabidis' sisters are both top five in goals scored this season on the team.

Here are the Trojans in action as John McGillen documented the 16-5 win over No. 6 UCI:

No. 2 USC men's tennis made short work of the Bay Area schools this weekend sweeping both Stanford and No. 18 California. The Trojans have rolled up 13 consecutive dual match victories to move to 22-2 on the season.

USC will make its final road trip of the regular season this weekend through Arizona (Friday at 1:30 p.m. PT) and Utah (Sunday at Noon). The big match on the horizon is the Pac-12 finale against UCLA on Friday, April 18, at Marks Stadium.

Here are the John McGillen photos from the Trojans sweep of the Cardinal:

USC baseball endured a rough weekend getting swept by the Washington Huskies. After blowout losses on Friday and Saturday, the Trojans battled for 14 innings to salvage the series on Sunday before giving up 5 runs in the final frame.

USC women's lacrosse got back to business in conference play dominating San Diego State 13-9 to move to 2-0 in the MPSF and 4-4 on the season. The Women of Troy attack was spearheaded by sophomore Caroline de Lyra who had four goals and two assists.

No. 1 Pepperdine sand volleyball had never lost in regular season play until the Women of Troy did the honors Tuesday. Now, No. 2 USC has a claim on the top spot and the confidence to ride past the Waves if the teams meet again in the postseason.

In perhaps the biggest dual match win in the program's three-year history, USC dominated Pepperdine 4-1 at Merle Norman Stadium. By doing so, the Women of Troy avenged their only loss of the season moving to 8-1 on the campaign.

USC women's basketball had its most successful season in years despite the heartbreaking loss that brought it to a sudden end. The Pac-12 Tournament champions left it all on the floor against St. John's in the NCAA Tournament.

USC women's basketball head coach Cynthia Cooper-Dyke is a living legend in her sport. In case the Women of Troy did not already know that, they found out today on a tour of the Women's Basketball Hall of Fame.